E3 2006: Indiana Jones Eyes-on

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The legendary artifact hunter makes the leap to next-gen. First details and screens!

By Juan Castro

First, a brief clarification: it is one thing to look next-gen, and it's quite another to play next-gen. So far, plenty of games have looked a step above the last generation, but few have actually played differently. Fewer still have offered any kind of evolved gameplay. And virtually none has proved that the games industry occupies next-generation space.

It looks like that time has come and gone. And who better to welcome a new era in entertainment than Indiana Jones? Perhaps more than any other hero, Indiana Jones personifies the kind of escapist fantasy that defines both the movie and games industry. So in a way, it's only fitting that he star in one of the first games to really put next-generation hardware to good use (the recently released official trailer that hit the net just moments ago doesn't even come close to what the game actually does -- the trailer simply isn't any good... we honestly don't know what happened there).

But first, a word on game basics. Or rather, the fact LucasArts didn't really offer any. At this point, it has engineered the technology to make the game run, and it has ironed out the story. But there's little in terms of specifics. And speaking of story, it does tie in to the upcoming movie. Developers said George Lucas gave them a chunk of the script for use in the game. But in terms of how many missions it'll have or exactly what kinds of puzzles and obstacles to expect, is unknown. What LucasArts has said, though, is that the game will include everything fans have come to expect -- including plenty of brawling, lethal traps, artifacts and moments of death-defying coolness.

To prove the point, LucasArts demoed its Indiana Jones title at a private event in San Francisco. And sorry, there's no official title, so no one hoping for hints on the upcoming film will get any. For now, it's only known as "Indiana Jones 2007". Not that it matters. At its current state, the technology behind it is so impressive, you could call it Indiana's Fairy Princess Adventure and it wouldn't deter our interest any. And by "current state," you should understand the game is more than a year away from completion.

As such, developers have only finished a small portion of the actual game. As absurd as it sounds, however, it's the technology behind the game that's what is truly exciting. It's so for a very simple reason too: it just hasn't been used until now. But after watching a 40-minute demonstration it's abundantly clear it has the potential to change the way you play games. All of this may sound like obscene hype. It may be. But If LucasArts winds up meeting its goals and delivers exactly what it wants when Indiana Jones ships, then it's not hype; it's simple honesty.

Now for the good stuff. Indiana Jones stands on two pillars of wicked-cool technology. Each lends the game an extreme degree of unpredictability; the first through advanced physics and the other through artificial intelligence. Tech number one, called Euphoria, deals strictly with character behavior and artificial intelligence. It lets NPC characters interact with their environment realistically. Beyond this, it grants them the tools and intelligence necessary to accomplish their own agendas, whether that's helping Indy or trying to kill him.